Change (Kitsune) (11 page)

I got home and went through my closet, trying to decide on something appropriate. I didn't feel like I needed to dress formally, but I knew that something nicer was in order. I ended up deciding on a long, flowing black and red print skirt that brushed the tops of my feet as I moved, I paired it with a clingy red silk blouse. The affect was quite stunning without being revealing or flashy. Because the bright color of the top made me look a little washed out, I had to reapply my make-up. I pulled the hair around my face up into a clip on top of my head so that it didn't hide my face but I left in tumbling curls down my back. I pulled a pair of black kitten healed strappy sandals onto my feet and decided I was as ready as I would get. I wasn't dressed to show off, but nicely enough to show my respect for their positions. I grabbed my purse; made sure my PCD was tucked inside the small bag and headed out the door.

When I pulled up in front of Bill's house I saw that Karen's car was in the driveway, meaning she’d returned while I was gone. There was a third vehicle parked in the driveway as well, one I didn't recognize. It was an older SUV, but I had to admit it looked like it was in great shape despite its age. It made me I wonder if perhaps the Lysandros and Harmonia were already here. I walked up to the front door and pressed the doorbell, I heard the sound of the bell ringing inside the house as I waited for the door to open. When the door in front of me opened I was surprised to see Terry.

"Good Evening, Nickie. You look nice this evening," He smiled pleasantly at me.

"Thank you," I replied, returning his smile, "I thought I could do a little better than jeans and a t-shirt."

"You certainly did that," he replied, "Come on in. The Alekto is busy in the kitchen and the Anikitos asked that I bring you into the living room to join him."

"Thanks. I know the way, if you have something else you need to do."

"Nothing better than escort a pretty lady," He said glibly.

"How kind of you. Are the others here?"

"No, you're the first to arrive."

"So the tru
ck out front is yours?" I asked, walking beside him through the house.

"Yep, she may be old but she runs well, and age alone is no reason for me to replace her."

"Very true." I agreed. As we passed under the archway between the dining room and the living room I saw Bill standing near the fireplace staring absently out the large window at the rear of the room. He appeared distracted, as though trying to work out the solution to a problem.

"Is something wrong? Has something happened?" I asked, starting to worry.

Hearing my voice so close to him Bill seemed to snap out of whatever thought he had been lost in and he turned to look at us, smiling.

"Nickie, don't you look nice! Are you ready for this?"

"Is something wrong? You looked worried when we came in." I asked.

"No, no, nothing's wrong. I was just enjoying the view while thinking a few things over." He turned back to the window and gestured out the glass.

I had to admit that the window did provide a stunning view of the mountains that stand south of town. I moved next to him so I could share the view.

"It's a great view this time of year isn't it?” I agreed, “Especially in the evenings when it's still light enough to see while you relax for a few minutes before or after dinner."

"I never tire of it." He turned his attention to me once again. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'm good for now, thanks."

"Karen will be back in a few minutes she just went to check on dinner. Have a seat, make yourself at home. Hank and Alexis will be here soon, I'm sure."

I chose a seat in one of the chairs positioned near the fireplace and sat down, Bill took a seat on the sofa beside it as Karen walked into the room.

"Nickie! I'm glad to see you!" She said enthusiastically, and I stood to give her a hug before sitting back down. "I love that skirt, it's just stunning."

"Thank you, it's one of my favorites." I smoothed the skirt down my legs just for an excuse to run my hand over the smooth fabric.

"It looks good on you, it's somehow just perfectly you." She took a seat on the sofa next to Bill and leaned against his side, "Have you been practicing finding your center and visualizing your shields?"

"Yes, Ma'am. At least twice a day, more if I have the chance."

"That's good, the more you practice the better your shields will be. Have you had any leaks, picked up any stray thoughts, since we started building your shields?"

"No, but I haven't been out much. The only time I've spent with around anyone but Kindred was when I made a quick stop at the grocery store yesterday before going for a run."

"No rush, just keep practicing and pay attention when you are around people, try and see how well your shields are working. When you're comfortable with it you can try to lower your shields some and see what you pick up, just as a demonstration on how well your shields are working."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for all your help, really. I would be so lost if you two hadn't been so kind and understanding."

"Think nothing of it, Nickie," Bill spoke up, "You're family to us, we could do no less. Speaking of family, have you given any thought to when you might want to tell your parents?"

"I've thought about it, but I just don't know. I know that I'm not ready to tell them yet, and I don't know when I will be."

"That's all right. You don't have to tell them if you don't want to. But I think you're going to find that the longer you wait the harder telling them is going to be, and I really think you're going to want to tell them in the end."

"I know I probably should, but just don't think I can handle it right now. I'm doing okay handling things one day at a time. By taking each hurdle and change as it comes at me and not worrying about what is to come I've been able to deal with it all. But when I start thinking about what to say to Mom and Dad, how to tell them about all this, I end up in the middle of a panic attack. Let me get used to what I am before I tell them, at least. If I have more knowledge about it, I will be better able to answer their questions, and I know they will have questions."

"Fair enough. You've done surprisingly well handling all that has been thrown at you in the last week, and I don’t want to do anything to compromise that, so I'll let you decide when you're ready. I'd like it if once you've decided you'd let me know, I told you we'd help you tell them, and I meant it."

Our conversation was interrupted by the peal of the doorbell.

Neither Bill nor Karen moved to answer it, instead Bill said, "Terry will get that, he's playing butler for me this evening." A moment later Terry escorted the couple I was there to meet into the room. Neither of them were anywhere near what I had expected. I was expecting to meet an older couple, closer to Bill and Karen's age than my own. Neither of them was more than a few years older than myself and that surprised me. I stood up to greet them, as Bill introduced me from where he remained seated.

"Nickie, this is our Lysandros, Hank Jeffries, and his wife, as well as our Harmonia, Alexis," turning, he addressed them, "Hank, Alexis, this is Dominique Daniels. She goes by Nickie. You know, now that I think about it, I think the only time I've ever heard anyone call her Dominique was when she was in trouble." He said, smiling fondly in my direction.

"It's nice to meet you" Hank said stepping forward to shake my hand. I felt a strange current of energy run through my body when his hand touched mine, not quite an electrical shock but not much different either. I had to look up several inches to look him in the eyes, so he was at least 6' tall, if not a little over. He has a muscular build, well defined without being overly bulky. He appeared to be a man who earned his muscle with what he did for a living, not one of those pretty boys who built it in a gym. His dark hair was cut in a short men’s style that has been popular for decades, and his deep brown eyes seemed to look inside you and be able to tell what secrets you were hiding. 

"So glad to meet you, Nickie." Alexis said, smiling as she took a turn shaking my hand. She's a couple of inches shorter than me and slender and beautiful. Something about her size and graceful movements made me feel over-sized and clumsy. She had shining blond hair that was cut in flattering pixie style around angular her face, and large green eyes that caught and held your attention, she reminded me of those classic tiny film stars

"It's nice meeting you both too," I said, trying to keep a smile on my face in order to hide my confusion.

Bill looked past the group of us to the man standing in the doorway and spoke "Thank you, Terry. You're free for the evening, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Sir, but with the four of you in the same place I'd rather stay if you don't mind. Just in case. But I'll stay in the other room unless I'm needed, and leave you to your evening." Terry replies, waiting for Bill’s acceptance before turning to leave the room.

"Very well." Bill said to him, before looking at Hank and saying, "Have a seat you two. Hank, I told you over the phone when I invited you over, that she shifted suddenly last week." The couple sat on the love seat positioned on the opposite side of me from the sofa.

The other man nodded, "I remember."

"I asked the two of you to come meet Nickie because, as you know, she wasn't raised among us and she's still learning the pack hierarchy. She needs to know who the leaders are, and who to turn to if she has a problem. She's comfortable with Karen and I, as I've been a friend of her father's since before she was born or adopted. I want her to know who she'll be turning to for help in case Karen and I can't be reached."

Alexis turned to me, "Is it true you had no clue what you are until you shifted last week?"

"None at all," I replied, "It's still pretty new to me, though I'm starting to get over being stunned and confused. I'm doing my best to get it all figured out."

"I wanted you to meet Alexis for another reason, Nickie. She's the only member of our pack who can teach you to call animal forms, and after what you told me this morning, I think you may need to see what she can teach you. I'd like for you to get to know her a little, see if you can work together so she can train you."

Alexis turned to me with a surprised look, "What makes you think you have the ability to call or restrict animal forms?" She asked

"Well," I started, "Yesterday Brandon and I…"

"Brandon?"

"Brandon Stone. He's been my best friend for years."

"Ah, I see, continue."

"Anyway we were out on a run. He told me that is what it's called when you go out and run around in wolf form."

"It is," Alexis acknowledged, nodding for me to continue.

"Well, we wandered around as wolves for a while and then we went back to the cars and Brandon was going to shift." I could feel myself blushing as I tried to explain, "Well, I'm just not comfortable with that yet, I'm having a hard time with the casual nudity. So I kind of thought 'I don't want him to shift yet' but I didn't think it at him like I do for him to hear it, I just thought it to myself and he didn't shift. I managed to get around to the other side of my car, to where I couldn't see him anymore, and then I didn't care if he shifted anymore. Once we were both dressed he confronted me about it, asked me why I kept him from shifting. I had no clue what he was talking about. I didn't intend to do it, I just didn't want to see him naked, or for him to see me that way either.

She nodded, seeming satisfied with my explanation, "I see. It appears you may actually have the gift to restrict animal forms at least, and I'm willing to work with you to develop the talent. We can see if you can call forms too, if you're willing. However, I'll warn you, you're going to need to get past the squeamishness of seeing people naked. Most of us don't care to keep losing our clothes from shifting in them and it often, isn't convenient to find a changing room."

"I understand why nudity is so casual among the Kindred, but it's going to take some getting used to though. It's not anything I've ever been exposed to."

"On top of all the everyday reasons for it, most of the calling and restricting of animal forms that I do is medical related. That means that if you want me to teach you to control this talent, you'll need to be able to handle blood at least to some extent and sometimes extreme and very emotional situations."

"Blood doesn't bother me. I have two brothers and three sisters, someone always had one kind of wound of another and we all learned to deal with the injuries we tended to give ourselves and each other."

"Very well, I'll give you a try. Where do you work?"

"I'm the Dean's secretary at the college."

"So you work Monday through Friday?"

"Generally, but not right now. For the summer we're on a 4/10's schedule."

"Oh, that will make it easier. Mondays or Fridays off?"

"Fridays"

"Is there any reason why you can't spend at least part of your Fridays helping me out in our clinic?"

"You have a Kitsune clinic?" I asked surprised, "How do you keep humans from coming in, seeing things and finding out about us?"

"It's not officially a clinic, or any kind of business. It's an unofficial clinic that’s run out of the guest house at my place. We've converted much of it over to be used as a Dr's office, and we do what we can when we need to. There isn't a huge call for a Kindred clinic but we get a few walk-in's a day. Broken bones, torn muscles, random injuries. But it would look strange for them to turn up in a Dr's office with an injury that would normally take weeks to heal and then hours or days later be fine."